Anniversary of WWII Bombing of Hawaii....and the last day to sign up for a Medicare Advantage Plan

Today is December 7th. A day in infamy, when Hawaii was bombed and the United States joined in to fight World War II.

It's also the last day for Medicare Advantage sales for January 1, 2012 effective dates.  Up until this year, most Medicare Advantage, or Medicare Part C, sales for the following calendar year were accepted from late October up until December 31st. For those who waited until the last minute to sign up at the end of December, problems arose when they tried to use the coverage for prescriptions or to see a provider just after the new year without an ID card. Because of this issue, Medicare imposed a new enrollment time period from October 15 through December 7 for this year's enrollments, giving everyone at CMS and at the insurance companies a chance to process all applications and get those all important ID cards into the hands of the senior enrollees prior to the January 1 effective date. Seemed like a good plan.

I wonder who chose the enrollment dates? I would not hesitate to guess that it wasn't someone who lived through WWII back in 1941 when the bombs were sneakily dropped onto Oahu. If the person who picked this date for the last day to enroll was actually someone who remembers December 7, 1941, they would have picked December 6th, or December 8th. Just not December 7th.

 My guess is it's some worker bee at CMS who flunked US History and had no idea that he or she picked such a famous date in our history.

Or I could be completely wrong. Maybe it was someone who studied history and thought that December 7th was a good date to pick for the last day of the annual election period for Medicare Advantage plans. Maybe the person who picked the date thought, well, I bet all those seniors will remember THIS date as the last date they can enroll!

Bombs away.....but hopefully not on US soil ever again.

Over 65 Medicare Choices

This year, from October 15th until December 7, Seniors over 65 can review, purchase or change their Medicare Advantage and Medicare Drug plans. After December 7, seniors cannot make any changes to their purchases for these plans, unless they are just turning 65, have heart failure or diabetes, or are Medicaid eligible with a Low Income subsidy.

For more info, here's a link to 2 articles that I wrote on Suite 101 (copy the entire address below and paste in your internet address box)

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Call me, email me or send me a Facebook message if you have any questions. I am certified by 3 separate insurance carriers to offer Advantage plans, and I can help you find the right choice for you and your budget.

I'm thankful for.....being able to get rid of stuff

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. First, I would like to say that I am thankful for all my friends and family who keep me sane. Second, I am thankful for good health (for my family and friends and me, too) and also good financial health (again, for the same people).

And I'm thankful that my kids still keep coming back home for my cooking!

For the past year and a half, I've been working at 3 different jobs, and I'm thankful that I can work at all 3: Insurance Agent (my 2 year non-compete is finally done! I can work with my old clients again); Tax Professional ( I guess I did a good job last spring, they asked me to come back this tax season, and want me to be an office manager!) and writer and...

Ebay and consignment "stuff" seller. I came home from my mother's house, after she passed, and after her funeral and then after cleaning out her closets and drawers and cupboards with the drive to get rid of stuff. While I like my stuff, they are dust catchers and they do clutter up the few rooms and closets and drawers that never seem to have room for anything new. I began the decluttering process by photographing a few items, uploading them onto Ebay, and hoping they will sell. A few did sell, although unfortunately, those few items that sold were very small and took up very little room. The bigger items languished even though I reposted them at least once or twice.

Hubby and I went to a store in a town north of here, an upscale town, not a large city, and one that is a "destination" for people who like to drive an hour or so to a village with shops full of kitschy things. Antiques, clothes, jewelry, wine, crafts, etc. We found a shop with lots of items that we loved looking at: Indian pottery, South American crafts, antiques, etc. Just like home! I told the shopowner that we had lots of stuff, would she consider consignment to sell my items? She said, sure, bring 'em over.

A few weeks later on a Saturday we drove up again, this time with 2 large boxes with our treasures packed carefully. The shopowner picked out about half of our items and said that she would discuss pricing with her shop partner and hopefully they would sell.

On Monday, her partner called us and asked us if we had more things like the ones that we left there? Oh, boy, do we!  We packed up another 2 boxes and off we went. They were both happy to try to sell our stuff and we were thrilled to see our treasures beautifully displayed and described. And I was very pleased with the prices that they set for our pieces.

I hope the stuff all sells. I don't want to bring them back home! I'm enjoying the "uncluttered" look that we now have in our house. And we are hoping to get rid of more stuff...I would hate to die and leave my messy cluttered house to my kids to have to clean out.

Back to selling insurance...once again

When I sold my book of benefits insurance business 2 years ago, I signed a formal and final contract with a 2 year non-compete agreement. Said clause stipulated that I would not seek an agent of record commission-able status from any clients listed in the "sold" book of business, nor would I try to sell any new products to these same listed clients. While many of my agent friends in the business own the opinion that these non-compete clauses don't hold up in court because a person has the right to make a living, I agreed to hold to the agreement anyway. I signed the agreement, I received fair compensation, and the ethical and honest thing to do, in my opinion, was to honor the agreement.

As of the end of this month, stated 2 years have ended. While part of me yells "open season!" another part of me, says: go slowly, be cautious, don't burn any bridges, and think carefully. A few of my old clients I expect will be glad to have me back in the business; a few old clients I would prefer to leave with my former agency, for various reasons. A few have even kept contact with me for the last 2 years and have already said they are looking forward to my return - which  makes me feel very grateful for loyal clients.

Meanwhile, I haven't been sitting on my duff reading paperbacks and eating bonbons...well, not too much. Recently, I completed certification and licensing with 3 Medicare Advantage insurance carriers; I've signed on one new group client; my agent of record letter is formulated and ready to go out to a choice listing of former clients. I've contracted with IBC bank and will spend time at a local grocery store pharmacy twice a week with an Medicare Insurance product booth and also at my local IBC bank - who will help with leads and application submission during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period that starts next week, and runs until December 7th this year.

I've also been asked by H & R Block to manage one of their local tax preparation offices this year. Last tax season, I worked part time at one of the HRB tax offices and really enjoyed the work, the people and the educational knowledge opportunities related to taxes. In my spare time this summer and fall, I've completed and passed numerous tax courses and also passed the first Tax professional certification course. While I'm not sure -exactly- how I feel about the thought of managing people again, the tax pros will be working for commissions and HRB just needs someone to manage the "office" - or at least, that's what I've been told. I hope that I am up to the challenge, but it's only for 4 months, and ends around April 16. I can do anything for just a few months! wish me good fortune?

So why do I continue to review job listings on LinkedIn and others? Is it because I am still not too sure about this "semi-retired" status? I really don't think I want a full time 8 to 5 job, anyway. I suppose it's just habit....I'm not "employed" so I need to keep looking, I guess. Crazy, heh?

This week, we are in the midst of plumbers and tilers and drywallers who are remodeling out guest bath that had broken tile and very old shower fixtures.

Being able to "oversee" the jobs, and just actually be here while stuff is happening (and doors are opening and staying open and Coco runs around barking and trying to get in everybody's way) has been a Godsend. We couldn't have had the remodeling done so efficiently if I wasn't here and flexible about workers coming and going.

This week, I've been at home every day, all day. Next week, I will spend most of the week (and the next 2 months, also) at the local HEB grocery store and at 2 IBC banks. Hopefully, I will find lots of baby boomer 65+ prospective customers and will sell a lot of insurance products to happy beneficiaries. I'm actually looking forward to getting dressed up every day and being busy, helping people find good product fits for their needs.

It's a good life!

A good friend and a wonderful lady is in heaven now

Yesterday a good friend of mine, a very lovely lady and very special person, passed on to heaven. She was a wonderful person to all: daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, grandmother. Tall, slim, gracious and classy, she was kind and generous to everyone always. She left this world much too early.  I believe that God didn't want to her suffer any more so he called her home to be with Him.

When someone passes from us quickly, or too young, we all second guess ourselves, at least I do. I should have done more, I should have helped or visited more. I wasn't generous enough with my time.  I feel guilty that I wasn't allowed to spend time with my own mother right before she passed on just last month, or at the very least, I should have been there when it happened.  But I didn't, and I wasn't there. My friend left me a message on my answering machine on Tuesday to tell me that she was now at home, but by the time I heard her message, I had already been to visit with her there....I listened to her message just a few days later and then she was gone from us on Saturday, so so fast.  She was blessed with many family and close friends at home, caring for her and loving her at all times during her last weeks of life.  I am grateful, and I know many of her friends are grateful too, that we were privileged to be able spend a few precious minutes with our friend before she was called home.

My friend loved life, her family, her friends, and especially her husband, her 2 children and her 3 grandchildren. I knew her before the grandchildren were born back when she was a working lady. We were all very busy then. Within the space of a couple of years, she was blessed with 3 gorgeous grandchildren and decided to retire so that she could spend precious time with them while they were small. Her grandchildren loved her tremendously and she loved them so very much.  They were so special to her.  I was jealous of her 3 grandkids, but she was generous enough to "share" them with me from time to time.  Those 3 children are wonderful people who I know will never forget their Gramma and how much she cherished and loved each one of them.

She loved get-togethers, dinner parties, Thanksgiving, New Year's, group meetings: whenever there would be food and friends and conversation. She also enjoyed visiting family during the summer, family who lived far away. There are so many people who loved to be with her. She always set a delicious table with wonderful cuisine, good people and great conversation, along with wine, cheese, bread and finished off with a bit of decaf coffee. At her house, I always knew that I would eat a fabulous homemade meal with all the trimmings and enjoy visiting with fascinating people. When she came to my house, she always brought me something....she was thoughtful like that.

Once I "retired" and wasn't as busy as before, I had the opportunity to spend time with her, just the 2 of us.  I will dearly miss those times. We saw each other more often in the last year, and I am grateful that I have those memories with her. Just last month, we went for a doctor's appointment together and then later had a very late lunch.  We talked and talked and talked for the better part of the day. We discussed everything: family (both mine and hers), politics, faith, food, travel.  She was tired by the end of the day, but she never complained. She always had a smile on her face.

If you didn't know her, you might say, wow, that person was really something, incredible! Truly, she really was something. She always wanted to know how I was doing, what was happening with me. She sympathized with me in all my troubles and gave opinions sparingly but honestly and with kindness.  She made a point of putting ME at ease, always.  But even she had a few doubts and regrets occasionally, she told me once. She was human, after all, just like the rest of us. But I can't believe that she ever hurt anyone, that just wasn't her style. Her simple goodness and pureness of spirit made me want to be a better person, to try to be more like her. I doubt that I will ever come close.

She made the world a sweeter place with her presence, and I was blessed to be able to call her my friend.  I will miss her very much and I know that all of you will miss her, too. Adios, my friend. May you watch over us all. Put a good word into God's ear for us since you are already there, ok?   I will see you again.

A wonderful woman passed away last week.

My mother, Anne Drobot Gunter, passed away on August 24th, 2011. I will miss her so. She was feisty, witty, kind, generous and unique. She was also smart, disciplined and a wonderful wife, mother, auntie, sister and grandmother.

She patiently taught my kids to play card games; she helped me fend off bullies with word phrases that made them stop -- without me using any violence or cruelty. She never left the house without impeccable hair, nails, clothes and lipstick; she always set a lovely table and made a feast for guests. She prayed daily for all the members of her family, that God would guide us and protect us.

She suffered much: loneliness when she was far from her family; when her parents, my father, and her daughter, my sister died; when family members disappointed her; and finally when she began to be very sick and frail, when her body ached and she couldn't breathe normally. She tried not to complain, and when she did we didn't really listen, we were wrapped up in our own anguish, knowing that she was going to leave us soon.

She was opinionated and had strong beliefs: God's love and grace, family ties and loyalties, giving, cleanliness and neatness, discipline, thriftiness, humor, enjoying the goodness of the earth and people.  I grew up without Koolaid, boxed cake mixes, fast food, bought cookies (except for girl scout cookies) or sodas in the house - she believed in making and baking tasty, fresh and well prepared food for the family always. Cereal and milk for breakfast was the fastest food we ate, and that was only after she found herself a job outside the home and didn't have as much time as before. As a teenager, tv dinners, tang, bought pastries and coca cola were treats that I purchased for myself with my own money as she would never had brought them into the house. Homemade bread and pastries, baked chicken and real mashed potatoes or pot roasts and scalloped potatoes made with her father's potato mandoline were often on the menu at home; at Christmas she made fudge with a candy thermometer.

My father treated her like the queen he loved. They were devoted to each other, and had a friendship and partnership that never faltered. She never had to balance a checkbook, fill the gas tank, handle home or auto repairs, pay bills or do the taxes - she did the laundry, the housework and the cooking.  Until he passed away 16 years ago. Even so, she managed to cope and successfully adapted, even though she missed him immensely. She learned how to balance the checkbook and pay bills, even take care of the car and get her taxes done. She lived within her budget and yet still managed to send money to those in need - and also to her grandchildren on their birthdays. She was always gracious and welcoming to all.

She was a long time mainstay at her church, and a member for 58 years. She gave that church a lot of herself and her money over the years and spent much time there - as a deaconess, member, bible study teacher, collection money counter, and probably more tasks and duties that even I was ever aware of. She made friends with no less than 4 preachers, all of whom came to love and respect her - and I'm sure will miss her now that she's not there. There will be a hole in that congregation that will be difficult to fill.

She nursed me through asthma, cat allergies, measles, my tonsil and adenoid removal surgery; helped me pick out my first purchased dress from the Sears catalog (that wasn't a hand-me-down) and numerous pairs of gawdy glasses in the 60's; encouraged my studies; told me what she thought about each of my boyfriends (she never really liked any of them until she met the one I married); proudly watched me graduate from college and then later get married; entertained my children in so many ways that I hear about another one all the time; taught me to love reading novels and magazines; taught me the importance of a good first impression; and never let me grow too old for her to tell me what she thought about my clothes, my hair, my life, my plans.

I will always be her baby - her youngest child. I used to hate that, now I am sorry I didn't appreciate her efforts more. She always said she tried to do her best, I think she did pretty good. My dad died 16 years ago, I think of him almost every day, and miss him just as much today as I did then. I know I will think of her every day, too, and will miss them both tremendously. I wish I could pick up the phone and call heaven to talk to them, as I know they are both up there. I hope they are both smiling down at all of us. My promise to each of them is to try to live up to their expectations of me as a daughter, a wife, a mother, a person. They would want that.

I'm now a "published author"!

I've finally made it!!   I wrote 2 articles on Medicare: the basics, and finding additional coverage to cover out of pocket Medicare costs have been published on suite101.com .

Here's the link:  http://www.suite101.com/seniors-health-medicare

These two posts are currently unpaid posts, but if they are picked up and used elsewhere, I might get paid. I may even send them to my local newspaper and see if they want to publish them. Suite101 editors state that once you've got anywhere from 20 to 30 articles on their site, you start to make money. I hope! I also posted this link on my Facebook page, hopefully some of my friends will read it, too.

Someday, I hope to make a good living out of doing this.  Photo credit:  Ambro.

Back in the saddle again

Back home again, and back into the grind of work. I spent another week or so with my mother, helping her a bit after her surgery. I didn't do a lot, just errands and household cleaning and stuff. She is having difficulty with her loss of control over her life so it's a constant tug of war: how much does she want done vs. how much she will let you do.

I've agreed to work with one of the local banks, selling Medicare supplements and Advantage plans this fall, starting in September until January, during the Medicare enrollment period. I will be placed either in one of their bank offices with set appointments OR at a desk in a local grocery store, accepting walk in queries - and hopefully sales. This is something new and different for me, as I've never actively focused on the senior market. However, I believe that in the coming years, this will be the market of choice for health insurance agents (think of all those baby boomers!) so I'm going to give it the old college try. I've spent the last month completing forms, faxing/emailing resumes, licenses and E & O policy pages - basically showing them that yes, I am a licensed and insured insurance agent and I am capable of selling insurance. Now I will spend August going through the Medicare required education and certification to sell the products. The feds have made so many regulations that one must go through many hoops just to sell in this market, that I hope it is worth it all! I've already got a few friends asking me questions about the differences and details available in the supplement marketplace. At the very least, this will educate me on the subject.

On a similar note, I passed my first certification test with H &R Block. Tax professionals are given 3 tries and a passing grade of at least 80 percent is required to be hired back to HRB in January. I passed on the first try with 95 percent! The plan is to try the 2nd certification test next week. If I can pass that one, then I'll move on to the 3rd test before the season starts in January. I doubt if I will pass either of the next 2 tests on the first try, but it's ok, I get 3 tries!

This summer has been very hot, dry, and very boring. I'm looking forward to becoming productive again, soon. And that Panama Canal cruise I've always wanted to take is tempting me tremendously.....if I make a few good sales, I just might be able to book it soon.

I'm a stuck in a whole bunch of sandwiches of life

My mother is in the throes of COPD and lung cancer after over 70 years of smoking. It's a scary time for her, and for me, too. My father passed away 16 years ago, my middle sister 9 years ago, and my oldest sister and I live such disparate lives that we rarely speak and certainly do not really know each other. I live half way across the country from my mother, I just went up there last month to help her with a procedure and will be up there again this month when she has another procedure done. I suspect that I will be traipsing up there again at least a couple of times this year; that is, if she survives for more than a couple of months. She's strong and a fighter but I am afraid the fight may be taking her last bits of strength. She will become tired of fighting soon, it's just a matter of when she decides that it's all too much and wants to give up. Meanwhile, she is coping with just trying to get through every day while facing certain death. I wish I could help her more than I can, and wish I could help more than she would even allow me to do.

My 29 year old son still lives with my husband and me. He has a job, which pays contract wages, sometimes, but he says he loves this job and it's the first one he's ever loved. I just wish it paid enough for him to pay his bills, live independently, have health insurance, and be able to enjoy a few luxuries and save a bit. He's home a lot, especially during the week, but he mows the lawn and vacuum/mops the floors and clean the bathrooms - when I whine about it. His particular sense of household cleanliness doesn't have the same sense of urgency as mine. My usual method of operation is to start talking about a house cleaning a week ahead, telling him that I am having friends over for dinner and that it would be nice if the house was, well, clean? and the front yard looked inviting?  I admit, it is nice having someone around when hubby is gone, and I do enjoy the company as he is a good roomie, but I can't always count on that - he does have a social life, thank goodness. I have told him that he is going to have to move out before his 30th birthday. I don't want to have a 30 year old man living with me....unless he's my husband or my boyfriend.

My husband is employed by a very good company that pays him well and provides excellent benefits for both of us. That's the upside. The downside is that he has to travel 3 weeks out of 4, and the travel is exclusively to Mexico - Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey. He's tired of business travel, packing on Sunday, flying out, hotels, packing up to leave, restaurant food, all of it.  He's also tired of traveling exclusively to Mexico, it's become a scary place, even though he is completely familiar with those 3 cities, his clients and the places that he frequents.  We both love to travel to foreign places, but business travel just isn't the same as leisure travel. You have to be somewhere all the time, you have to look good, you have to be prepared and pleasant. All in all, I think he'd rather be traveling to Paris or Toronto, but he's fluent in Spanish and good at international sales, so for right now, his job provides the majority of our income.

Since I left my last full time job in May 2010, I have had a lot of time to think about whether that was the correct decision, and whether or not I want to go back to work full time. Hubby says, just enjoy it while you can, but secretly, I wonder if he is jealous of my free time and the fact that I don't have to get dressed every day. And that I don't have to be somewhere most of the time. If the tables were turned, I would be jealous! However, I am busier now than when I was employed. I have 3 part time jobs that pay significantly less than when I had one job but since I am at home all the time, I do everything related to the household: bills, taxes, cars, insurance, schedules, appointments, vacation planning, house fixing, cleaning, shopping, cooking, laundry, dishes, etc. Whew! I get a lot done in my nightgown and housecoat.

Truthfully, I am grateful that I have someone supporting me right now (although I do have a bit of income coming in from my 3 part time endeavors to support my shopping vices) and that I am able to drop everything immediately, if need be, and fly up to help my mother. I wouldn't be able to do that if I was working a full time job. And if I did have a full time job that I was able to leave whenever I wanted, I would at the very least feel guilty when I dropped everything to go. So maybe the stars are aligned for me right now, and maybe this is where I need to be and maybe I am doing what I need to do right now. I suppose I should be content?

Here's the crux of my dilemmas:

I'm sandwiched between wanting the gratification (and pay and stimulation) of a full time job and needing to be able to go at a moment's notice.

I'm sandwiched between the guilt of being able to luxuriate at home for as long as I want and wanting  to spend the money that my husband slaves so hard to provide for us.

I'm sandwiched between needing to kick my son out on his own for his own good and wanting to keep him close to home so I can enjoy his company.

I'm sandwiched between wanting to fly the coop and leave all my cares behind - retire with hubby to a far away place with a slower pace - and needing to be somewhat close to my mother (for the time being, anyway) and even closer to my children, whom I love and like and would miss dreadfully if I didn't see them at least weekly.

I'm sandwiched between being too young to retire and too old to start something new.

All in all, sandwiches are NOT my favorite food right now. I'd rather be an empanada, rich inside and cocooned by an outer shell that's not too hard to break.

Back to work...maybe~

Having had a few mini vacations, one to Tucson to watch the fireworks in the desert after the monsoon, and one to help take care of my ailing mother, I'm back to work. Sort of.

I am having a very difficult time getting back into the swing of things. Is this what is called writer's block?We arrived home late Tuesday the 5th and while I had every intention of writing and doing a lot of work on Wednesday & Thursday, it's now Friday. I've piddled around and read all my emails and Facebook comments from my friends but I haven't done anything that can be considered paid labor. Unless you count making dinner for myself and my employed husband and then doing the dishes and laundry, which of course somebody has to do!

I paid a few bills, upgraded my phone at the Sprint store (see my pretty new purple fone in the picture!), helped a client with 3 very old whole life insurance policies, went to an H & R Block tax meeting, talked to my friends, took the car to the tire shop to remove a nail from it, drove my daughter's foreign exchange student to school, watered the plants on the patio, went shopping, mailed a few things, and that's about it. The sum total of 2 and a half days.

Why is working from home take so much discipline? Is it because the whole house screams at you:  clean me, wash me, fix me, eat me. I hate "fixed" schedules, even when I worked in an office. I always preferred getting in early or staying late when needed so that if needed, I could cut out for a few hours either in the middle of the day or in the afternoon and still manage to get all the work done. Now, if I don't start, nothing gets done, but no one, really, is awaiting me. Well, my publisher is waiting for me to finish my latest assignment - but apparently the "deadline", which came and went on the first of June is not really "dead" and according to Nick, I can keep writing more pieces, if I want.

Maybe I'm just tired of the assignment and bored and ready to start a new project? Or maybe I just need to discipline myself, buckle down, and get going.

My goal now: 2 to 3 articles every day until we leave on our next vacation. I hope I manage to keep the ball rolling!

My Daddy, the best dad there ever was

My Dad was the best dad ever, in my humble opinion. He was the first boy who hugged me and told me I was special. Then he continued to hug me and tell me he loved me and still thought I was special as I got older, until the day he passed away.

Daddy was always interested in what I had to say or do. When I wanted to learn how to ski, he researched the ski and boots market and found me the best skis, poles, boots, ski jacket and pants that his little budget could afford. When my mother refused to go to the movies, he and I started "movie night" where the 2 of us would go to the movies together, eat candy bars and drink Coca-Cola (which m mother never allowed in the house) and then discuss the movies together on the way home. I still remember seeing "Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia" with him. I was around 12 years old, but somehow he thought I was old enough to see adult movies.

He never let on to me that the world might impose any limitations on me, not because of being a female growing up in the 60's and 70's, nor because maybe I might not be able to hack it. He had great confidence in me, much more than I had myself, growing up. Whenever I think I might not be able to hack it, I try to remember my dad's faith in me, and how he thought his greatest accomplishments were the daughters that he raised.

My only regrets are that sometimes we all didn't live up to what he wanted for us all the time. And I regret that he didn't live to see my children grow up to be fabulous people on their own. He loved his grandchildren so much, and loved spending time with them. Once he told me that I was too hard on one of my kids. I replied that he would never have let me do what he was telling me that I should let slide. "Yeah, well. Maybe I was too hard on you kids", was his reply. He really wasn't.  Most of the time, his discipline was a harsh look and a comment that he was "disappointed" in me. All this makes me realize that what I do remember is how much he loved me, not how much he disciplined me.

Parents are never perfect, and kids, unfortunately, don't come with a simple How-to Manual. I'm sure he felt he made mistakes, and I'm sure that I've made mistakes, too. But I remember him with great fondness, and much love.

And that's how I want my own children to remember me when I'm gone. I want them to remember me just like I remember my dad -- I want them to know how much I love them, just like how much I knew he loved me, just as I am. 

Making money with blogs

Yesterday I signed up for Google ads....I'd already signed up for Adsense previously...in hopes that somehow I would be able to make a few $$ from writing something that somebody might like to read. Next I posted my blog address on my Facebook page and asked all my friends to click to the site and please to click on the ads.

Today, I checked the site stats and Voila!! So far, in 2 days, I've made a total of $5.26 !! How exciting! Now, if I make about $2.60 every day, that's, hmm...less than a hundred dollars a month. Not too shabby for my first attempt, but I believe I need to get serious about this if I'm planning on being able to live off of writing.

When I signed up for the ads, I applied to a number of ads that Google prompted to my site after I selected a few of my "interests". I immediately got 2 "acceptances" and a few other "pending" notices. Later, I received "declined" notices from all the rest of my choices. I've found that Blogspot and Adsense only allow 3 ads to appear on the blog. I searched around in the "setup" of the site, and found that I had previously set up 3 Adsense spots. Adsense spots are a rolling list of anywhere from 3 to 7 click-thru ads.  This prompted me to try to remove 2, but I was only successful in figuring out how to remove 1, leaving me with 2 Adsense ads and only 1 of the selected ads that I had uploaded to my blog. Why? remember, you can only have 2. So, I will have to rotate the ads, see how they work.

I also have a blog on Wordpress. Wordpress is much easier to manipulate, writing and design wise, but I haven't yet figured out how to monetize my Wordpress blog. I'm not even sure that it allows for paid ads. That's my next project.

"Monetizing" the blog....I'm not really sure I know what I'm doing?

And will this actually produce any money?

To date, I have learned the following about monetizing a blog:
1) Adsense will override any other ads that I've signed up with and are approved for on my blog;
2) Blogspot will only allow 3 ads to be viewed on your blog; so, if Adsense is set for 2 spots, you can only have one other money producing ad.
3) If all my 277 friends on FB click through just once on an ad, I may make about...$2.77...or less, if not enough people click through.
4) most ads state that if 100 click thru's happen, you get $xx.xx payment. Somehow I have not figured out how Adsense will pay, nor how much they will pay. I'm still learning.
5) whoever writes the "help" pages and the instructions on blogs and blog ads must be much more technology savvy than the average user.  IMHO, I am more knowledgeable than many, but there's a lot in there that is as bad as learning Chinese. Oh, wait, maybe someone in China wrote it and then google translated it?

Meanwhile, I should be writing on my contract job, but writing about Alzheimer's is so much less fun than figuring out stuff on blogging and how to get paid for it.

I better get back to my real writing job.

Trying to get rid of old stuff

Over the last 30+ years, I have amassed a large quantity of National Geographic magazines. I have also picked up a few very old ones, from the 50's and 60's. I find them fascinating and I love reading and re-reading them. Unfortunately, they take up a lot of space in my closet and they are nasty dustcatchers. 

This week, I decided to cull out a few keepers and sell the rest on Craig's list. I took a picture of a few new and a very old one, and posted the item on Craig's list. Someone named "Mike" immediately asked to come look at them, and I replied that we could meet at a local diner. Nice safe busy place, I don't really want any strangers at my house!

I asked my strong son to get them down off the top shelf in the closet and help me put them in boxes, so I could cart them out to the car and hopefully, sell the lot.

Meanwhile, my son started looking through them, and said that $30 was way too cheap a price for the collection; then he started finding the ones that he wanted to keep - and started throwing out bids for the lot. My reply was that "Mike" already wanted to buy the lot for $30.  My sense of duty and honesty propelled me to keep my word, I felt that I couldn't go back on "Mike" and sell the lot to someone else and tell him, tough luck.

Plan was to meet "Mike" today @ noon. Around 11:00, I received an email from "Mike", he no longer wants to buy them.

New Plan:  I will chronicle the issues and edit my Craig's list posting. Or else just take them down to Half-Priced books and get a few dollars credit.

turning .tif file pictures into .gif files. Any advice?

I scanned a few photos from way back when, prints, to my computer so that I could upload them onto my Facebook page of my high school friends. Unfortunately, Facebook will not upload .tif files. I've been told to "re-save" them as .gif files but when I try to do this, I don't get that option available. Any suggestions?

Laptops! I have 2 now!

I bought a new laptop last summer. I am certain that it was defective because in about 2 weeks the screen went crazy horizontal lines - no normal screen sights at all. I took it in to the computer big box store and 5 weeks later, they sent me a new one. First they lost it, then they apparently hadn't typed in my correct phone number, so they sent me a nasty email that said "we have tried to reach you, your computer is ready, come get it." Hooray! then a few months later, I dropped it on the tile floor. It still worked fine but the external box on the left by the hinge was severely dented and closed funny.

Since it still worked fine, I was too embarrassed to take it in for repairs, so I waited until this spring to take it back. I took it in, along with my external hard drive so that they could back up all my new stuff onto the external drive. They called me a few days later to say that the external drive was ready. I went there to pick it up, and they had lost it! Stolen, destroyed, lost, who knows where that thing - mind you with all my stuff on it - was.

Someone there with a few brain cells went and retrieved my laptop from the warehouse (where it goes to be sent off to Sony for repairs) so that the data could be backed up onto a new external drive. Whew. Then they couldn't find the laptop AGAIN!! I was furious. When I went to pick up my laptop, it had been sent back, yet not repaired!

I'm going to skip over all the back and forth and trips to the store and complaints and people passing the buck and so on etc. I will skip ahead to a call I received from the store manager telling me that, because of the bad service that I received, they wanted to GIVE ME another laptop! OK, but what about the one that is @ Sony, supposedly being repaired? Oh, that one is yours, too. This will be one from us to show us our sincere apologies.

I might also mention that right before this call that I received, on my last trip to the store, I had  requested a letter, signed by someone at the store, that stated that the store LOST my external hard drive and took responsibility for that loss. Yes, they replaced it, but it had a lot of personal, private information on it. I wanted some proof in case my identity got stolen somehow, that could trace it back to that. The manager said that he was certain that the hard drive was destroyed.  Apparently when they transfer data from one old external drive to another new one, they destroy the old one. I certainly hope that is what happened.

So, now I am enjoying using 2 computers at once! I can research on one screen, write on the other....so much easier than tabbing back and forth.

I guess it pays to complain sometimes. And ask for proof of loss.

Editor's approval!

My current writing assignment was supposed to be finalized last Wednesday, but the original instruction was that I could write 50 to 70 or more articles out of a possible 200 or 300 titles.  I asked for a short extension to Friday, which was granted. On Friday, I wrote my editor and said, I can keep writing if you need me to? Each article is supposed to be 500 to 650 words. He wrote back on Sunday that what I had written was "certainly fine so far" and that I could keep at it this week, no worries.

"Certainly" makes up for those 2 rejections that I keep trying to "reject" out of my memory!

I'm too busy to be unemployed!

Not to be too distracted by the 2 rejects that I received from one publisher, for 2 very small articles, I decided to move on.
I spent the better part of 2 weeks in May enrolling teachers in their choice of insurance benefits for a broker friend of mine. I like doing this type of work; I'm not really selling but my expertise and knowledge of the benefits and the insurance business is greatly appreciated by the majority of the people with whom I sit with while explaining their options.
In between the 2 weeks that I was enrolling, I spent a week or so with a friend in Cuenca Ecuador. She and her hubby have listened to me talk on and on about Ecuador for almost 20 years and they decided that, maybe we should just up and sell the farm (literally) and go. They did, last winter, and love it there - no regrets. So I had to go, see them, check out the new pad, enjoy the gorgeous weather, flowers, food and good company -- and I had a blast. Wish my hubby went with me, too, but, somebody has to work...harder than me, anyway.
I'm working on finishing an assignment for the one publisher that I have actually been successful - and who has actually paid me!! but it's been a bit slow going as the articles are all about medical conditions and I have to do a lot of research to get it right.
Next, I have applied to no less than 3 other publishers to hopefully! be approved/hired/accepted to write for them. I can't live on the one assignment about every month and a half that I do receive currently.

I had plans to re-arrange the "office/guest room/bicycle stuff room" to be my office, buy a new desk, throw out the junk I haven't used for years... For the last 2 years, my office has been the dining room table...and I believe that I like being able to look out the front window at my favorite tree, be close to the fridge for snacks, and put my feet up on one of the other chairs. Here's a pic of my new Sony Vaio laptop on my messy "desk"!

got my first reject :((

Got my first reject from the new publisher that I'm working with. It was a short article, 500 words, but the template that they gave me didn't really lend itself to the subject and then the editor said it was really written more like a "topic view" than a "how to".  If I could have written it as a topic view, I would have, but the template for the subject was a How To! makes no sense. The topic was interpreting your insurance policy. The editor also asked for a reason why I didn't cite any references. I stated that I thought being a licensed agent was as good a reference as any! That the state licensed me to be able to interpret, sell and dissect the policy, and if I do that wrong, I may lose my license, so I better be knowledgeable! once I sent that, it was rejected pretty quick. :(( I quickly sent off my next "how to". Hope that I do better on this one!

starting to write with a new publisher!

I've started to write short articles with a new publisher. This publisher seems to be very organized, very methodical, and very specific regarding how they want the articles to be written. To begin, I've picked 3 titles and will write 3 "how to" articles according to a template laid down for the layout. I wrote the first one, "how to interpret your auto policy" and submitted it for review. I'm supposed to wait until the first one has been reviewed and edited so that I will have a better idea of what they want, before I start on the next one. We'll see how well I did on this first one. I rewrote it at least 3 dozen times. Took me hours to get it right, I'm anxious to see if they think it's right.

selling on Ebay

Today I posted 3 separate items on Ebay for sale. Here's a handcarved chess set I posted:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190527448170&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

My plan is to try to photograph and post 3 or 4 items every week. I hope that they sell! We've got to get rid of all this stuff!  If they don't sell, I'll go to plan B.

Hump Day

Today is Wednesday. Some people say that this is the best day to go grocery shopping. Apparently most people go shopping later in the week, or on the weekend, or on Monday, so stores are the least crowded on Wednesday. And most stores begin their new sales on Wednesday, so supposedly the store will be fully stocked on this day with lots of bargains.

Personally, I hate Wednesdays. First off, the weekend is too far away to think that the week is practically over.  Most weekends, I plan a lot of projects to work on so I usually get started on Monday. Which means that by Wednesday, I should be half way done (probably not going to happen) or I will have run into some form of roadblock that will keep me from finishing the task or tasks. 

oh well. Today is almost over. Tomorrow is Thursday and that's practically the weekend!

Getting rid of stuff

It all started when my husband complained that we have too much stuff crammed into our little house. We do, it's true. We've traveled all over the world, and I have to bring back mementos. I am a very sentimental person and I love old things, handmade things, pretty things, lots of things. He hates clutter. He would prefer to have a minimalist type of decor, you know, like you see in the movies of the single guy in a loft in New York. Chrome and leather couch and chair and coffee table in the living room. Bed and maybe a nightstand in the bedroom. That's it. No photos, no gewgaws, no heirlooms, nothing personal, no dustcatchers.

We have a lot of dustcatchers. And I am allergic to dust. I decided all the clutter had to go.

But it's so hard to part with my stuff! I don't want to dump it all in one of those donation boxes. The fragile things might break! I decided to try to sell a few things on ebay. I started watching similar items and they sold for pennies! Couldn't do it.

Next I decided to take some of my stuff that I've bought in 3rd world countries --handcarved or handcrafted things-- to a store that I saw in a local mall. They had lots of similar stuff. Maybe they would buy some!  I boxed up 2 small boxes of samples. Lugged them over to the store. Trotted them out for show, he loved all of them, but only landed on 5 little carved animals, made from a type of large nut that when carved, looks like ivory. But isn't. Sold the 5 for $7.50. Wish I could have sold the lot to him rather than lugging it all home again!

I may try Ebay again. If that fails, I guess we are back to the donation box again! Or maybe I could give the stuff away as Christmas and Birthday presents?

Good news and bad news

The good news is that when I took my daughter's laptop to get looked at, miraculously, it worked! Either I didn't have the power cord plugged in correct and it drained the battery or else the shaking up in the car drive to the shop was a fixer. Yay! Laptop is good to go.

The bad news is that I went to the big box computer store where they had taken my own laptop to be sent off to Sony for repair. I had left my external harddrive with them to download all my stuff off the laptop onto the drive. Saturday, the guy called me and said that the drive was ready, come pick it up. When I proffered my receipt to the counter person, he left to find the small box with the drive, now holding (I assumed) all my precious pictures, articles, resumes, you name it. I gotta have that stuff! He couldn't find it. Asked some other dude to help, he couldn't find it anywhere.

They finally asked a young lady, who tried her best to find it, no go. The other 2 guys gave up and wandered off to do "other stuff". She called the tech at home (who did the transfer on Saturday, and called me to say it's ready), he said "it's right there where I left it Saturday night". Yet it has disappeared. Gone. She looks everywhere, no finding it.  Sends me home. Says that maybe, when they packaged my computer up to send to Sony, they packaged the separate drive along with the laptop, although I can't figure out why anyone in their right mind would do this since it's not a Sony and furthermore, was in working order when I left it with the tech. Yikes! So I ask them to please find the laptop and get all the stuff on the laptop's drive loaded onto SOMETHING before they take it apart.

So-So news: The laptop is still in the warehouse. I left it at the big box computer store on Friday, they packaged it to ship on Saturday, but TOO LATE for pickup, so it hadn't left yet on Monday around 2:30. Am beginning to realize just why the last time they fixed the thing it took 4 weeks and then they just gave me a new one anyway.

Moral of the story: Don't drop the computer. Takes too much out of a person to go through all this just to get it fixed.

it all started when I dropped my laptop...a few months ago....

I dropped my laptop a few months ago. It was laying on the kitchen table, with the power cord snaked over to the electrical socket on the wall above the counter next to the table. I knew that if I wasn't careful, I would probably trip over the cord... well you get the picture. So I did trip over the cord and the laptop fell to the floor. Hubby and son watching TV yelled, "what happened"?  Of course, I yelled back, NOTHING!!! then quickly picked it up, opened it and turned it on. Whew. It worked. Closed a little funny, the casing on the left corner was missing a piece of plastic, but no worries! It worked. A month or so later, the mouse started to not follow directions. Uh Oh.  I finally took it in to the big box store where I bought it last week.  Of course I had purchased the accident warranty (because I know I'm a clutz) and they cheerfully accepted it and said, 2 to 3 weeks. What???? am I going to do.

My daughter happens to have a laptop that I purchased for her about 2 years ago. I bought it for her with the caveat that she would be required to load all of my 35mm slides from the 1970's onto the hard drive and then to a disk, which would be much easier to access and view than their current residence, an old circular slide projector carousel. So far she has done about 2 slides. So, I feel like I can ask her to loan it to me for a few weeks while my laptop is in the shop. She does have another laptop, a company one, and a blackberry so she can easily read emails and FB and post and stuff without the laptop. I am not the owner of a BB. Hate them.. The numbers and words are way to small for me to see and push. Makes me write gibberish.

Got my daughter's laptop on Friday. All good all weekend. Closed it up and put it on the counter on Sunday evening. Monday morning, opened it up, pushed the little tiny "on" button. Nothing. Tried it again. Nothing again. Left it alone, thinking maybe it needed time, tried it again. Nothing. OMG what should I tell my daughter? I did NOT drop it! Actually did nothing at all but close it! So, today, I am going back to the laptop repair place and asking them nicely for a rush job....hoping they will/can. I'm out of town next week, enrolling employees with their annual renewal enrollments at a school near Ft Worth, staying in a hotel with WiFi. I NEED a laptop so I can write, read, research etc.and stay in touch with everybody.

Oh how I have become so dependent on technology! I can't function without a daily dose. How did this happen?

First post!

I am an unemployed (technically) middle aged female who is actually working a variety of different jobs in this new economy. It all started when I decided last year that I no longer wanted to work as a corporate animal. So, to keep up my shopping and traveling habits, I must needs do some sort of compensated work.

1)  I hold a life and health insurance license. I have, at times, worked for an insurance company (twice), an insurance agency, a third party administrator (twice) and have even formed, built up a clientele and then sold my own small agency. I do love insurance, especially employee benefits. However, after ObamaCare, there's not much to do out there for a health insurance agent, not much commission to be had, and I refuse to go to work for an insurance carrier ever again. THAT is another blog post. So, I hire myself out as an "enroller" helping carriers, TPA's and agencies enroll employees in their employee benefits annual enrollment.  I love this part of the business, the one on one contact with a real person with real needs. I can help this person while they are trying to make the decision of what plans to buy, what coverages they need. And when the enrollments end or the contract is done, I go home and forget about it.

2)  I write "content" for a textbook publisher, usually one contract a month, about 20,000 words. They give me an outline with a title for each bullet.  Each of these bullets need anywhere from about 200 to 800 words. Mostly they assign me stuff to write about insurance but not always. Most of the "articles" do require some research, to be correct, and plagiarism is NOT allowed. I have found that writing on my newish laptop is rather easy, and I can just let the words flow. The computer counts my words, it corrects my spelling and even alerts me when my grammar is wacky.

3)  I worked for a national tax preparation company this spring and I loved it. I took the 10 week tax preparation course last fall and since I passed the test with a 95, they chose to hire me as a "first year" tax pro. The tax code really makes no sense to a rational person, but there are rule books and limits and maximums and percentages and stuff that is how it is.  I like that. I plan to take every course available during this off season and will join up with them again next January.

4) When I sold my agency book of business in 09, I had already agreed to a 2 year non-compete limitation, that would kick in whenever I left the agency. That means that I may not try to go back to any of my old clients who had business with the agency when I left for 2 years. That 2 years will be up in October 11. Not sure what I will do at that time, I may be happy doing jobs 1) 2) & 3). But it will open up a new option. I have already had the opportunity to sell a bit of insurance to people and businesses who were not clients of that agency, so we'll see.

5) Since I love to travel, I am researching a way to travel and do something that will pay for the travel. Import small foreign objects to sell, write a travel article or two, maybe even arrange other peoples' travel. Not sure yet what I might be best at here, but it is right up there at the top of my list, because I live to travel. Itchy feet. Maybe I was a Bedouin in a former life or maybe my ancestors were nomads.

I am working, total hours, probably more hours per week than i ever worked in a "real" job, but I am the master of my fate, the captain of my ship, and I am grateful that I have the skills to be able to do what I prefer at this stage in my life.